Monday, March 21, 2011

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a good restful weekend...ours was chilly and rainy and just plain out gross. Welcome spring!

So, of course that kept me indoors most of the weekend. Which was good because I was able to get a lot of stuff done! So I guess its a catch 22.

One of the projects I was finally able to complete has to do with a somethin' we call PVC pipe. We currently have bundles of them out in our backyard right now, trenches dug, some pipe already laid. Yes, it sounds like we are on top of things around here, but in reality, they have been sitting there since October or November when we were attempting to get our sprinkles done before the first snow fall. Obviously, that didn't happen.

So with all this extra pipe, I decided to put it to some good use.

(short disclaimer: I'm not recommending that you do what I am about to say, I think it was a little dangerous, but it worked for me. If you do do this, make sure you take all proper safety precautions)

Okay. Now that that's said.I took the pipe, marked every 1/2 inch, and sent it through my miter saw. In order to get the best cut and not have it ping and then shoot out flying across the room, it is best to go at a slow downward speed. Just trust me on this one. And on a more festive note, cutting about 80 of these babies will give you some good 'snow' to use for christmas decorations! I have piles and piles of white stuff all in my basement now. lol

You can also spraypaint the pipe whatever color you wish before doing the aforementioned process. I have some lime green pipe just waiting to be turned into something fabulous!

Now that you have all your cut pieces, lay them out into whatever desirable decor piece you would like.

It took me about a good hour or two to do this, making sure all the spacing was correct and what not. Making sure it was a circle and not some half circle-square thing. And yes, I'm a perfectionist so this was a tedious process.

And, as you will see soon, I changed the configuration of this quite a bit. My final piece looks nothing like this above piece.

Okay. So, once you have this all laid out. Start hot gluing them together. On my big piece, I started from the outside in. It just made more sense to do it that way. And as I was gluing, I made sure that pieces that had ink or marks on them were hidden beneath the glue so they wouldn't be so obvious when I was finished with the piece - and mainly because, I was lazy and didn't spraypaint or paint the pipe before hand to hide said marks. lol

Next, I took a mirror that I found in the craft department at hoblob and glued that baby on also.

Once all was said and done....and dried. I had to clean off the hanging plastic that was left from the cutting and all the little shards of plastic that not-so-mysteriously appeared (as you can see above).

Finito!

And of course, I had to find a new place for these babies. And as always, I made more than I could use :)

But, I think they made there home quite nicely here in the entry way.

And just from another angle....in case you missed all the other pictures.

Not bad, eh? Just from a couple of extra pipes laying around. Now to get those darn sprinklers done!

lol

In order to do this big one and two small ones, it took about half of one of those loooong..very long pipes. Just an fyi.

And another fyi: If you choose to use your miter saw, let it cool down a couple of times during the cuts. It will thank you. Or if you don't have a miter saw, and have a lot of time on your hands, you can cut these with a hack saw or even with pvc pipe cutters.

Well, now my house is welcoming spring....only if the weather with cooperate now also!

Great minds think alike! I saw a mirror in Kirklands one day that had metal circles all around. I was thinking of what I could use to recreate the mirror and I thought of PVC pipe. I have yet to make mine but I am so glad I haven't because your design is so much better then the original. Thanks for helping me see that I should think outside the box a little more. There are tons of designs you could come up with! Great job!

My parents used to cut PVC pipes for household projects every year, so I know what a mess you had to clean up. However, the end result of your mirrors was worth it. I love that you made something totally modern, yet unique out of something that is so ordinary.

Great job! I could probably get my dad to help me on something like that since he is a pro on PVC!! I am your newest follower from Made by You Monday!Hope you stop by www.bigsislilsislove.blogspot.com or www.decoronadollar.blogspot.com

I can see I am one of MANY who loved this project--so creative, cheap and lovely! I posted this on my Friday Favorites today. If you want, you can come grab a featured button. Thanks for sharing this beautiful idea!

Oh Em Geee! Just when I think I've seen it all! You outdid yourself Alicia. This is BRILLIANT and totally looks AMAZING! I would love to have you share this at my VIP party today =) http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/vip-party-8.html

Hi Alicia, I really enjoyed this project and the post http://www.thriftyandchic.com/2011/01/happy-new-year.html. I'd love to share these two projects on my blog. Putting the two link to yours. I would like your permission to use some images. My email and my blog is vivifa@gmail.comhttp://amocraft.blogspot.com

I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to understand. Unlike additional blogs I have read which are really not that good .No doubt it's really a great article and I felt really great going through your blog post. Great to read more articles from your side.

I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to understand. Unlike additional blogs I have read which are really not that good .No doubt it's really a great article and I felt really great going through your blog post. Great to read more articles from your side.

Just beautiful!!!What kind of glue did you use to stick all the pieces together as well as the mirror? I want to make sure it's not a single piece is going to detach when I hang them on my wall. Thank you so much for the inspiration!!

I am thoroughly convinced in this said post. I am currently searching for ways in which I could enhance my knowledge in this said topic you have posted here. It does help me a lot knowing that you have shared this information here freely. I love the way the people here interact and shared their opinions too. I would love to track your future posts pertaining to the said topic we are able to read.

What kind of glue did you use to stick all the pieces together as well as the mirror? I want to make sure it's not a single piece is going to detach when I hang them on my wall. Thank you so much for the inspiration!!

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